


The Red in Our Ledgers

by Shi_Toyu



Category: Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Spoilers, BAMF Natasha Romanov, BAMF Tony Stark, Emotional, Emotional Hurt, Friendship, Gen, Hurt Tony Stark, Male-Female Friendship, Natasha Romanov & Tony Stark Friendship, Natasha Romanov Is Not A Robot, Natasha Romanov Is a Good Bro, Protective Natasha Romanov, Protective Tony Stark, Spoilers, Tony Stark Feels, Tony Stark Gets a Hug, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Needs a Hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-30
Updated: 2019-04-30
Packaged: 2020-02-10 10:46:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 579
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18658867
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shi_Toyu/pseuds/Shi_Toyu
Summary: AVENGERS: ENDGAME SPOILERSSummary within.





	The Red in Our Ledgers

**Author's Note:**

> Tony uses the stones and gets transported to the Soul World. Natasha is there to meet him.
> 
> Non-tagged Warnings: Canonical Character Death, Morgan Stark feels

Tony sucked in a breath as the stones locked into place in his gauntlet, the power starting to rush through him. It was overwhelming, incredible, _painful_. It was like fire or electricity coursing through his veins, ripping him apart from the inside. The pain made it hard to think, hard to concentrate, hard to remember what he was trying to do. He _had_ to, though. Everything rested on him, now. He could stop this, all he had to do was concentrate hard enough. He squeezed his eyes shut and focused.

“Tony?”

He blinked, startling as he found himself suddenly somewhere completely different. All of the rubble and destruction was gone, all the fighters. The ground was just a flat expanse, smooth like a mirror or still water, stretching out to the horizon on every side. The sky was like a sunset, bathing everything in warm orange, but there was no sun, no specific source of light. Before him was a structure of stone pillars and, standing beneath them, looking just as surprised to see him, was Natasha.

He stumbled to his feet, stumbled toward her, nearly collapsing and dragging them both down as he wrapped his arms around her shoulders and hugged her desperately.

“Nat? Clint, he- He said you were dead. What happened? Where are we? I-I had the stones. I was going to- Thanos is-“

“Shhhhh…” Natasha soothed him, her confusion fading into a warm, fond look, more open than Tony had ever seen her before. “It’s alright.”

Tony tried to breathe, but the anxiety curled deep within him.

“What’s going on? Am I dead?”

Natasha’s smile dimmed a bit, her eyes becoming tinged with sadness.

“Not yet. The stones have to finish their work first, but it won’t be long now.” One of her hands moved up to cup Tony’s cheek, her thumb brushing lightly over his cheekbone. “You are so brave… You always have been.”

Tony’s heart clenched, but he had to focus.

“The stones? I did it? Thanos and his forces?”

“They’ll be taken care of,” Natasha shushed him. “You did it, Tony. You saved them. I’m just sorry that this is what it’s cost you. I had hoped I would be the only one.” Her lips twitched. “Hope dies last, I suppose.”

Relief flooded him. He’d done it. Thanos and his forces would be dusted so they could never hurt anyone again. A sob ripped its way out of his chest.

“Morgan-“ he choked himself off, unable to put into words the grief of knowing he was leaving his child behind.

He hoped she knew he loved her, that he would always be proud of her. He never wanted her to feel a moment of the doubt he’d had to go through with Howard. Maybe he should have emphasized that more in his final message. Why had he been so flippant? Turned to jokes to combat his emotions like he always did? At least the last words she would ever hear from him was that he loved her.

“I know,” Natasha murmured, wrapping her arms around him and pulling him down until his head rested on her shoulder and she could run her fingers through his hair. “I know. It’s hard to leave them, but we gave them a future, Tony. We wiped away all the red in our ledgers and now their possibilities are endless. They’re gonna do incredible things.”

Tony clutched her tightly and thought of his little girl.

Incredible things.


End file.
